Government welcomes Cathay direct flights to Adelaide

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss, has welcomed Cathay Pacific’s decision to introduce direct flights between Adelaide and Hong Kong, facilitating same day connections to China and other Asian cities.

The Tourism and Transport Forum estimates there will be a direct economic benefit to tourism in South Australia of $24 million a year from this direct flight. At present, just 29 per cent of South Australia’s inbound international visitors are from Asia compared to 43 per cent for the rest of Australia. Mr Truss said direct services to Asia would provide a boost for the South Australian economy at a time when it is badly needed.

“The Government has approved the flights to operate in Adelaide Airport’s curfew ‘shoulder’ period between 5am and 6am from April to October. The flights are allowed under the Adelaide Airport Curfew Act, which was introduced in 2000 to provide night-time aircraft noise respite for Adelaide residents.

“Flights in the curfew shoulder must meet special rules, including approaching the airport over Gulf St Vincent unless it is unsafe to do so and following even stricter noise abatement procedures.”

Mr Truss said he is very conscious of the need to balance the economic benefits of the new flights with concerns local residents have about aircraft noise from the early morning flights. The flights need to land in Adelaide at this time to accommodate available slots in Hong Kong and to enable connections to other parts of Asia and Europe. The direct Hong Kong to Adelaide flight is scheduled to operate only in the Northern Hemisphere Summer season commencing 6 April 2014.